Ukraine 2000 State Sell-Offs Raise $27 Mln To Date

Reuters, 1 March 2000

(Ukraine, which has raised 1.507 million hryvnias [national
currency, roughly six to a dollar] from cash sell-offs since 1992,
plans to boost privatization revenues to 2.5 billion hryvnias this
year to help pay crushing foreign debt
obligations….Privatization is a key part of a $2.6 billion
International Monetary Fund loan frozen in September
1999….)

KIEV, Mar 1, 2000—(Reuters) Ukraine, which has set ambitious
privatization targets for this year, has raised 150 million hryvnias
($27.29 million) from cash sell-offs so far this year, the State
Property Fund said on Tuesday.

Olexander Bondar, who heads the fund, told a meeting with regional
media the government would raise another 91 million hryvnias from
privatizing a stake in leading steel mill Zaporizhstal in the next few
days.

“We are lagging behind our schedule but we shall do everything
to meet the target,” Bondar said, adding that the planned figure
for the first quarter was 500 million hryvnias.

Ukraine, which has raised 1.507 billion hryvnias from cash sell-offs
since 1992, plans to boost privatization revenues to 2.5 billion
hryvnias this year to help pay crushing foreign debt obligations of
$3.1 billion due this year.

Privatization is a key part of a $2.6 billion International Monetary
Fund loan program frozen in September 1999 over stalled reforms and
ahead of a presidential election.

Bondar said the fund hoped that privatization in key energy,
metallurgical, chemical and telecom sectors would help meet the
target. The fund plans to sell stakes in some 3,000 large companies
this year.